Maybe we all have to just sit back and realize that what Rory McIlory did at age 22 at the U.S. Open last year was extraordinary and that we can’t worry about him repeating the performance anytime soon. Or maybe we have to realize that at 23 he is in love with his tennis-playing girlfriend and just isn’t focusing on his game the way he will in the future.
Whatever the case, we are presented with a fifth consecutive disappointing finish in a major since he won the U.S. Open by McIlroy this week at the British Open. A round of 3-over 73 this moring puts McIlroy at 5-over for the tournament and a full 15 shots behind the leader, Brandt Snedeker, at the moment.
McIlroy is going to be a multiple winner of majors. He is too talented and his swing is too good for him to not win another major. But Jack Nicklaus has already said McIlroy needs to focus on more on preparation. And it is likely true that McIlroy is feeling some pressure at a young age to follow up his U.S. Open win. It won’t be this week.
The leaders are on the course, and already Tiger Woods has a bogey to fall five off the pace. Will this be a weekend of Woods rallying to get his 15th major, or a weekend of disappointment like he had at the U.S. Open last month?